Investigation of Syrian Refugees’ Motivations for Learning Turkish

Motivation undoubtedly plays an important role in learning a second language in that the whole process presupposes motivation to some extent. In the context of Syrian refugees, understanding the factors motivating learners is the very first step in the language learning process in that the refugees must first be integrated into the education system, which will soon facilitate adaptation to society. In this quantitative study, a cross-sectional survey model was employed to determine the reasons for Syrian adult refugees to learn Turkish and examine the influence of motivation on Turkish language achievement. The participants were Syrian adult refugees who learned Turkish as a second language in Turkey. The data of the study were obtained using a questionnaire including the “Motivation Scale for Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language” and the “Turkish Achievement Test” developed by the researchers. Data obtained from the motivation scale were analyzed quantitatively by using descriptive statistics, and the mean values and the standard deviations of the achievement test scores were calculated using SPSS. The results indicated that the main reasons Syrian refugees learn Turkish are professional career, academic career, survival needs and social adaptation. On the other hand, their motivations were found to be high, and it was revealed that refugees were mostly instrumentally motivated. While no significant differences were found in the level of motivation among of Syrian adult refugees in terms of their reasons for learning Turkish, the results clarified that motivation has a great role in raising proficiency in learning Turkish as a second language. Regarding the results of the study, it can be suggested that language teachers should be aware of various reasons of their learners to learn a language and seek ways to motivate them, which will support the learning process.

INTRODUCTION the means, regular or irregular, used to migrate. Under such a definition, those travelling for shorter periods as tourists and businesspersons would not be considered migrants. However, common usage includes certain kinds of shorter-term migrants, such as seasonal farm-workers who travel for short periods to work planting or harvesting farm products (IOM, 2011, pp. 61-62). As implied with these definitions, there is no external pressure on migrants. This suggests that most of the Syrians who have come to Turkey are not migrants. This is because Syrian citizens have come to Turkey due to the civil war in their country, which is an act of displacement that people are systematically subjected to, in order to address their vital needs rather than raising their living standards. In this case, "refugee", another concept related to migration, should be addressed.
Refugee: A person who, "owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention defines a refugee as any person compelled to leave his or her country "owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country or origin or nationality." Similarly, the 1984 Cartagena Declaration states that refugees also include persons who flee their country "because their lives, security or freedom have been threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violations of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order." (IOM, 2011, pp. 79-80). Turkey has used the term "refugees" for those coming as a result of incidents in Europe and "asylum seekers" for those from outside Europe (Özkarsli, 2014, p. 17). Syrians in Turkey, mostly women and children, are asylum seekers in this context since they have been forced to migrate due to the civil war and internal conflicts in their country. However, according to the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (YUKK) dated 11.04.2014 and numbered 6458, these people are accepted as "conditional refugees".1 The participants of the study will be hereinafter referred to as "refugees".

Teaching Turkish as a Second Language and Refugees
Today, there are 185,001 students in Turkey enrolled in higher education who are studying Turkish as a foreign language.2 However, the refugee influx caused by the civil wars in Syria and Iraq has largely affected Turkish language teaching practices. Considering the students in the Turkish teaching centres of universities, it is seen that there are thousands of Syrian refugees learning Turkish for various 1 Retrieved on January 6, 2021 from https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/ eskiler/2013/04/20130411 2 Retrieved on January 6, 2021 from https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/ reasons such as marriage, trade, adaptation to social life and literacy as well as the international students studying Turkish for academic purposes. While most of these refugees have high motivations for learning Turkish due to their language learning needs, some refugees keep their motivation low in line with their dreams of returning to their countries. This results in differences in their language learning processes.
The trainings addressing the needs and objectives of refugees who learn Turkish for various reasons are provided by various state institutions. General Directorate of Lifelong Learning of the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE -GDLL), whose strategic goal is to increase the participation rates of Syrians in courses carried out in public education centers (PEC), has made an important effort for Syrians in Turkey in terms of both Turkish literacy and vocational training. Between 2014 and 2018, the number of Syrians who participated in Turkish language courses prepared by MoNE was 258,260, and 345,927 Syrian adult refugees participated in vocational courses. It is noteworthy that more than 60% of trainees in these courses were women (Erdoğan & Çorabatir, 2019, p. 31).

Teaching Turkish as a Second Language and Motivation
In teaching Turkish as a second language, several opportunities are offered throughout the country through various programs in line with the needs and objectives of the target audience. These programs are usually designed with a motivated audience in mind. It can be said that students who start foreign language learning with high motivation, are free of prejudices for language learning and do not have negative perceptions about learning the target language are more advantageous than those who have negative perceptions towards language learning (Tunçel, 2014, p. 178).
Motivation, in general terms can be defined as "the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritised, operationalised and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out." (Dörnyei & Ottó, 1998, p. 64). One uses this driving force in line with the target they have set. In this respect, each element that increases motivation is an important factor that will help improve the language learning process. Dörnyei (1998, p. 117) states that "Motivation has been widely accepted by both teachers and researchers as one of the key factors that influence the rate and success of second/foreign language (L2) learning. Motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate learning the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process; indeed, all the other factors involved in L2 acquisition presuppose motivation to some extent." In the context of Syrian refugees, marriage, professional career, literacy, adaptation to social life are examples of internal and external factors that can motivate them to learn Turkish.
An abundance of evidence from previous research has suggested that motivation is the key element in the language learning process (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 273). In the study carried out by Kardeş and Akman (2018), teachers listed the factors that hinder Syrian children to achieve learning outcomes as not being adequately supported by others, and the child's reluctance to get education. The child's reluctance is thought to be the result of his inability to express himself due to language problems (p. 1234). Today, it is seen that the number of refugees who can speak Turkish is quite high. However, these results may be misleading since there are Syrian Turkmens among the refugees. They speak Turkish fluently; however, they are not literate in all respects of Turkish language (grammar, writing, speaking, reading, etc.). The findings of the study conducted by Erdoğan et al. (2017) support these results that 37.75% of the participants, who were Syrian university students, were advanced level, and 41% were intermediate level Turkish speakers. The study revealed that there were Syrian Turkmens among refugees, and the reason that they spoke Turkish well might be because their parents were of Turkish origin rather than they learned Turkish well in Turkey (p. 43).
Öztürk (2018) highlights that school-age Syrian refugees in Turkish education system are subjected to social exclusion and they become isolated as a result. In order to prevent such negativity, the first thing to do is to ensure that the refugee students have the literacy skills to communicate with their teachers and peers (p. 72). These results are supported by teachers' observations in the classroom. Language problems, cultural differences and emotional problems are regarded by teachers as the main problems with refugee/migrant students (Yurdakul & Tok, 2018, p. 55) In their study, Türker and Göçmenler (2020) found that most problems experienced by Syrian students in previous years in Turkey remained largely the same. The results showed that Syrian students could not learn Turkish well, which led to many other problems such as absenteeism, falling behind the curriculum, inability to adapt to the environment, and as a result behavioral disorder (p. 4565). Teaching Turkish to Syrian refugees plays a significant role in solving these problems. These students must first be integrated into the education system, which will soon facilitate adaptation to society. For this reason, a well-designed learning environment should be established for students to learn Turkish.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Reviewing the literature in this field, it is seen that individuals who learn Turkish in Turkey or abroad have various reasons for learning the language. This variety is shaped by the purposes and needs of using the language by the target audience. In the study that Tunçel (2016) conducted with Greek students it was revealed that students learned Turkish for reasons such as the effect of Turkish serials broadcast on television channels, the desire of students to learn a language other than European languages, the fact that Turkey and Greece are neighbouring countries, and the similarities between Turkish and Greek cultures (p. 124). In the report, which aims to analyze the situation of language education for refugees in Turkey, it was underlined that the main reason to learn Turkish is to be able to communicate and make friends with Turkish people, to get familiar with the habits and the culture of the society, to survive in their new countries, to be aware of what is happening around them, to interact and live in harmony with neighbors (Nimer, 2019, p. 17). Balaban (2014) conducted a study with Albanian students and listed Albanian students' purposes for learning Turkish as job opportunities, trade, education, residing in Turkey, and interest in Turkish language (p. 628). In their study, Tok and Yigin (2013) found that students had a desire to learn Turkish for almost the same purposes, which are professional and educational career, tourism, marriage and political reasons (p.144). In another study, which was conducted with the participants from a country far from Turkey, it was revealed that the most emphasized reason for learning Turkish was to acquire a new language and be involved in cultural interaction (Sayar, 2019, p. 100). As can be understood from these studies, the reasons of the target audience for learning Turkish vary according to various purposes.
As for the role of motivation in foreign/second language learning, numerous studies have been conducted by researchers with students from different educational backgrounds. Most studies indicated that there exists a mutual relation between motivation and language learning, in which motivation helps learners to acquire a new language. One of these studies was conducted by Wimolmas (2013) in order to investigate university EFL learners' motivations in Thailand. The overall results of the study revealed that the students were highly motivated to learn English. The findings also showed that the students were more instrumentally motivated to learn English (p. 913). In a similar research, Goktepe (2014) explored the attitudes and motivations of Turkish first-year university students towards English language learning. The results revealed that the students were mostly instrumentally motivated for their professional needs (p. 326). Culma (2011) investigated the role of motivation types in an English conversation class and found that students perceived themselves as being more successful in learning English when they were integratively motivated (pp. 67-68).
In Iranian EFL context, a study was conducted by Gholami et al. (2012) to explore the motivation type that dominated among 3 rd grade high school students and to find out the motivation type of high achievers. It was clarified that instrumental orientation was the dominant motivational type among high school students and those who were integratively motivated were high achievers in the study (p. 1422).
With the participation of Iranian advanced EFL learners, Ebrahimi and Heidarypur (2016) carried out a study to explore the relationship between personality types, motivation and language learning success. Based on the findings, they signaled a significant relationship between motivation and students' success indicating that the students' success in learning English was related to their motivation (p. 149).
Another research that focused on the relationship between language learning and motivation and attitude was conducted by Oroujlou and Vahedi (2011). The results of the study revealed that attitude and motivation had a great influence on raising efficiency and proficiency of the students in learning a second language (p. 998).
In the secondary school context, Wariyo (2020) investigated the factors affecting English language achievement with the participation of 120 grade nine students. Consistent with the results of previous studies, the results revealed significant correlations between English language learning motivation and English language achievement (p. 145).
In Turkish EFL context, Sakiroglu and Dikilitas (2012) investigated the relation between students' motivation in learning English and their proficiency level. They reached similar results that there was a direct relation between motivation and the proficiency level, which means that the more motivated the students were, the higher proficiency levels they had (p. 3218).

METHOD
This study was conducted adhering to the ethical rules to be followed in scientific publications and research. In this context, the ethics committee approval required for the research has been obtained from Anadolu University Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Board with the letter dated 20.07.2020 and numbered 35853172-000-E.00001161179.

Research Design
This quantitative study emphasizes the motivations of Syrian adult refugees who learn Turkish as a second language. In this context, a cross-sectional survey model was employed to determine the reasons for Syrian adult refugees to learn Turkish and examine the influence of motivation on Turkish language achievement. Cross-sectional surveys involve observation of a specific population at one specific point in time (Babbie, 2017, p. 107;Creswell, 2005, p. 355), which can be very useful for providing one-off information about the attributes of that population (Wyse et al., 2017, p. 399). The research questions addressed in the study are as follows: 1. What are the reasons for Syrian adult refugees to learn Turkish? 2. What is the level of motivation of Syrian adult refugees towards learning Turkish as a second language? 3. Do Syrian adult refugees' motivations for learning Turkish differ significantly in terms of their reasons for learning Turkish? 4. Do Syrian adult refugees' Turkish achievement levels differ significantly in terms of their motivation for learning Turkish?

Sample/Participants
Due to the civil war in their country, Syrian refugees who have been forced to migrate to Turkey need to learn Turkish for different reasons in the process of establishing a new life. Today, Syrian adults residing in Turkey learn Turkish in public education centers (PECs) of their provinces. The population of the research is Syrian adult refugees who learn Turkish as a second language. The sample of the research was selected from the population on the basis of cluster sampling method. Cluster sampling, a probability sampling technique, is used where it is very difficult, if not possible, to list all the members of a target population and select the sample from among them. In this sampling technique, researchers divide the population into clusters and a simple random sample among the groups is then selected (Ary et al., 2014, p. 167;Gliner et al., 2017, p. 146;Gürbüz & Şahin, 2016, p. 167;Laher & Botha, 2012, p. 91). In this context, Syrian adult refugees who learn Turkish in Kilis PEC constitute the sample of the study. Demographic information regarding the sample is shown in Table 1. The age of the refugees participated in the study ranged from 16 to 68. The female/male ratio was close to 4:1. As for the level of education, 8% of the refugees reported they graduated from primary school, 11.4% graduated from secondary school, 35% are high school graduates, and %45.6 have got college degree.

Instruments
The data of the study, which is quantitative research, were obtained using a questionnaire including the "Motivation Scale for Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language" developed by Sevim (2019), and the "Turkish Achievement Test" developed by the researchers. In the first part of the questionnaire, there are questions about the demographic information of the participants, an open-ended question about the reasons why they learn Turkish, and 22 items on their motivation for learning Turkish. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to determine the factorial structure of the fivepoint Likert-type motivation scale (1 -Strongly disagree, 2 -Disagree, 3 -Neither agree nor disagree, 4 -Agree, 5 -Strongly agree) in the current research sample (principal component analysis/varimax). According to the EFA, Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity results were significant (KMO= 0.95; χ2= 4159.6; df= 231; p < 0.001). In addition, it was revealed that the motivation scale had a three-factor structure, and the motivation of the participants towards learning Turkish was discussed in the sub-constructs of internal motivation (IntM), instrumental motivation (InsM), and cultural motivation (CulM). Factor loadings of the scale were 0.65-0.76 for IntM; 0.73-0.87; for InsM; 0.79-0.87 for CulM. The total variance explained by the factors was calculated as 65.55%. These values are among the boundary values recommended in the literature (Hair et al., 2014, p. 115). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the scale. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, the fit indices values of the three-factor structure of the scale were χ2= 308.10; df= 262; CFI= 0.96, RMSR= 0,097, SRMR= 0.057, RMSEA= 0.044. Also, the results revealed that χ2/ DF ratio was 1.176, indicating good model fit (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003, p. 52). The reliability of the scale was checked with the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, and alpha value of the sub-constructs of the scale was a= 0.79 for IntM, a= 093 for InsM, and a= 0.88 for CulM. These results suggested the scale is reliable (George & Mallery, 2020, p. 236;Kalayci, 2017, p. 405).
The achievement test, which covered the topics the participants learned in the course, consisted of 40 multiple-choice questions. To assess the validity of the achievement test, expert judgement was obtained, and the test was piloted with 23 students learning Turkish as a foreign language. The results of the analysis showed that the tests have strong validity and were proven to be highly reliable (KR-20= 0.80). In addition, all items were confirmed to have a strong item discrimination power and can be used in the tests (r > 0.30).

Data Analysis
Participants were asked what their main reason for learning Turkish was with an open-ended question in the questionnaire form and the data obtained were analyzed using the content analysis method. First, the data were coded separately by the researchers and code categories were created. Then similar codes were identified and further grouped into overarching themes. Following the coding and grouping process, descriptive statistics were used to calculate the frequencies and percentages, and the data were interpreted. In order to ensure the reliability of qualitative data, direct quotations from the views of the participants were included. Syrian adult refugees' motivations for learning Turkish were examined by using descriptive statistics such as percentage, frequency, means and standard deviations on their scores obtained from the "Motivation Scale for Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language". In order to group the participants in terms of motivation levels, a two-stage clustering analysis was conducted. In the first stage, motivational patterns were evaluated by using the item means obtained from the motivation scale through Ward technique, which is a hierarchical clustering method. The dendrogram revealed a three-group cluster can be used. In the second stage, the reliability of the three-group cluster was checked using the K-means technique, which is a non-hierarchical clustering method. The result of the analysis revealed that the means obtained by applying both Ward and K-means techniques were similar to each other. As a result, a three-group cluster was determined regarding Syrian refugees' motivations for learning Turkish as a second language, a) low motivation, b) moderate motivation, c) high motivation. Data regarding cluster analysis is demonstrated in Table 2.
Regarding Turkish achievement levels of the refugees, the raw scores obtained from the Turkish achievement test were converted into percentages and then the mean values and the standard deviations were calculated using SPSS. The results were interpreted with a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the study, which aimed to examine the motivations of Syrian adult refugees residing in Turkey and learning Turkish as a second language, data obtained from the questionnaire and the achievement test were analyzed and interpreted within the scope of related research questions.

What are the Reasons for Syrian Adult Refugees to Learn Turkish?
In an attempt to find out the refugees' reasons for learning Turkish, data obtained from the open-ended questions in the questionnaire were interpreted. The results are shared in Table 3 below.
As can be seen in Table 3, the reasons for Syrian adult refugees to learn Turkish are categorized into four major groups. Around one third of the participants (33.1%) stated they learn Turkish for their professional careers, which is a prerequisite to finding a job in Turkey. The views of some refugees who learn Turkish primarily for finding a job are as follows: "  Among the refugees 69 stated that they would like to continue their education or start a university to get an undergraduate or graduate degree. Below are the thoughts of some refugees, whose primary focus is their academic career: "

What is the Level of Motivation of Syrian Adult Refugees Towards Learning Turkish as a Second Language?
Data gathered from the motivation scale were analysed quantitatively in reference to the second research question, in order to find out Syrian refugees' motivations towards learning Turkish as a second language. Table 4 shows descriptive statistics for the motivation scale. The results of the descriptive statistics on the level of motivation of Syrian refugees taking part in the study revealed that the mean for internal motivation (IntM) was 3.84 (SD= 0.648), for instrumental motivation (InsM) 4.23 (SD= 0.906), and for cultural motivation (CulM) 4.17 (SD= 0.907) ( Table 4). These results indicate that the participants have higher instrumental motivation to learn Turkish as a second language compared to their internal and cultural motivation, however, the overall mean scores of each type of motivation of 4.08 is considered as a high degree of motivation. Considering the motivations of the participants in general, it is seen that the participants largely agree that they would like to speak Turkish like their native language and learning Turkish would be useful to improve themselves (X -=4.46).

Do Syrian Adult Refugees' Motivations for Learning Turkish Differ Significantly in Terms of their Reasons for Learning Turkish?
After determining the reasons and the level of motivation of Syrian adult refugees for learning Turkish, One-way ANOVA test was used to examine the difference in their motivations regarding their reasons for learning Turkish. Since Levene's Test of homogeneity of variances was achieved (p > 0.05), ANOVA statistics was utilized (Field, 2013, p. 443;Pallant, 2016, p. 259). The results can be seen in Table 5 below.
The results of the ANOVA test, as shown in Table 5, do not reveal any significant differences in the level of motivation of Syrian adult refugees in terms of their reasons for learning Turkish (p > 0.05), which implies that the refugees' reasons for learning Turkish is not a significant factor to influence motivation for language learning. In other words, the findings suggest that the refugees who learn Turkish for academic purposes, professional career, survival needs, or social adaptation are almost equally motivated.

Do Syrian Adult Refugees' Turkish Achievement Levels Differ Significantly in Terms of their Motivation for Learning Turkish?
With respect to the fourth research question, the data were analysed using One-way ANOVA test to examine the difference in refugees' Turkish achievement levels regarding their motivations for learning Turkish. Levene's Test of homogeneity of variances was achieved (p > 0.05), so ANOVA statistics was utilized (Field, 2013, p. 443;Pallant, 2016, p. 259). Table 6 presents the results of One-way ANOVA test.
As illustrated in Table 6, Turkish achievement levels of Syrian adult refugees differ significantly depending on their motivations for learning Turkish (F= 6.798; p < 0.01). In order to determine the levels of motivation which cause significant differentiation, Tukey post hoc tests were conducted. The results indicated significant differences between low motivation group and moderate motivation group (md= -12.52; p < 0.01), between low motivation group and high motivation group (md= -13.26; p < 0.01). The refugees who had a moderate or high level of motivation demonstrated higher achievement levels than those who had a low level of motivation. As the level of motivation increased, the achievement level increased as well.

CONCLUSION
More than 70 million people in the world are refugees today for many reasons such as wars, economic difficulties, poor living conditions, etc. In the world history, many countries face the highest number of refugees seen in recent times. According to figures from the UNHCR, 3.7 million of the nearly 80 million refugees live in Turkey today. These figures make Turkey the country hosting the most refugees in the world. As well as the refugees themselves, the refugee crisis concerns the countries hosting the refugees. One of the most important consequences of the recent refugee influx from Syria to Turkey is related to teaching of Turkish as a foreign language.
People may have various reasons when learning a foreign language. When we look at the studies conducted in the field, it is seen that this variability is shaped by the needs and the purpose of the target audience to use that language. The results of the current study, which was conducted with Syrian adult refugees residing in Turkey and learning Turkish as a second language, showed that refugees learn Turkish for reasons such as professional career, academic career, survival needs and social adaptation. It is noteworthy that Syrian refugees residing in Turkey are learning Turkish as a second language and their main reasons for learning Turkish are vital needs for them rather than arbitrariness. They need to find a job for their living, continue education, get health services, find a shelter, and adapt to their new environment. It was reported in another research that the refugees in Turkey learned the language for exactly the same reasons (Nimer, 2019). It seems that foreign language learners, even in different contexts, have got quite similar reasons for learning languages. Tok and Yigin (2013) investigated the reasons of foreign students for learning Turkish and obtained There is a common belief that motivation has a significant effect on foreign language literacy and the whole language learning process. In this context, motivations of Syrian adult refugees for learning Turkish were investigated within the scope of the study, and their motivations were found to be high. In terms of motivation types, it is seen that refugees were mostly instrumentally motivated, on the other hand they perceived internal motivation as the least important in learning Turkish. The study has confirmed prior research with results. Wimolmas (2013) found that university EFL learners were slightly more instrumentally motivated to learn English. Similarly, Goktepe (2014) found that EFL learners studying at university in Turkey were mostly instrumentally motivated for professional needs. However, these results contradict the results Culma (2011) reported that EFL learners perceived themselves as being more successful in the English conversation class when they were integratively motivated. As mentioned above, the reason underlying the results of the current study might be that the refugees in Turkey, who were forced to be displaced from their home countries, have to start building a new life in their new countries and learn that language for vital needs, not for touristic or cultural needs. These results consolidate the results obtained with the first research question. Professional career, academic career, survival needs, and social adaptation, which are the main reasons of Syrian adult refugees for learning Turkish, are the elements of instrumental motivation (Dörnyei, 1990, pp. 66-67).
On the other hand, no significant differences were found in the level of motivation of Syrian adult refugees in terms of their reasons for learning Turkish, which are professional career, academic career, survival needs and social adaptation. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the reasons of refugees for learning Turkish are not a significant determinant on their motivation for learning Turkish. It doesn't seem possible to sort these items in the order of priority or importance, as each is a must for refugees to maintain their life, not a choice. This is due to the fact that the profiles of refugees in Turkey are extremely heterogeneous. As such their reasons are different in terms of language education. Some are highly educated and already speak a second language while others are relatively uneducated, illiterate in the Latin or Arabic alphabet. Those who are illiterate need more specific attention on learning Turkish alphabet. The ages of refugees also differ. Younger ones are most likely to learn Turkish for academic purposes while older refugees need to learn the language to find a job and support their families (Nimer, 2019). Therefore, it can be stated that each of these is equally a good reason that will help motivate refugees, who are struggling to survive in a new country, to learn a language.
Based on the results of the study, it can be suggested that motivation is important in raising proficiency in learning Turkish as a second language in that the refugees with high level of motivation scored better in the achievement tests than those with low motivation. These results are consistent with earlier studies, (Ebrahimi & Heidarypur, 2016;Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011;Sakiroglu & Dikilitas, 2012;Wariyo, 2020), indicating that the refugees with higher motivation level are likely to be more proficient in learning the language than those with lower motivation level. As implicated in these studies, successful language learning doesn't necessarily require the gifted ones with special abilities and high IQs, but primarily those with high motivations. So, at the very first stage, language teachers should seek a way to set clear and achievable goals for learners, which will motivate them to learn that language. Since learners may have different reasons for learning a language as revealed in the study, their motivational needs may differ as well. In this respect, it can be concluded that language teachers need to be concerned with their students' reasons for learning the language in order to be aware of the motivational factors that will help them improve their language learning in general.
As stated at the outset, the current study sought to shed light on the reasons and motivations of Syrian adult refugees to learn Turkish, and the relation between their motivation and their language learning achievement. Given the increasing number of refugees in the global world, there is obviously a need to understand the factors affecting refugees' motivation to learn a second language.
The sampling of the participants, which was limited to Syrian adult refugees residing in Turkey, is the main limitation of this study. Based on this limitation, the sample may not be representative of Syrian refugees in general, the refugees of all ages and those learning a second language other than Turkish in different contexts. Therefore, there is a need for further research with refugees of different backgrounds and in different contexts in order to better understand the relation between motivation and language learning achievement.